Secrets
by LiaBelle
Summary: Everybody has a secret, but Lindsay's got one bigger than you'd ever imagine.
1. Prologue

"Lindsay, how'd you get that bruise?" Danny said, pointing to a black and blue splotch of skin poking out from her sleeve.

Lindsay tugged her sleeve down to cover her upper arm and shrugged, "Oh, I don't know," she lied rather badly, "It just appeared one day. Weird how those things happen."

"Seriously, Montana, that looks like a pretty bad bruise," he lifted up her sleeve to take a better look.

"I'm fine, Danny," she snapped, pushing his hand off of her arm. "Really."

"Ok, ok," Danny muttered, "Whatever you say."

Lindsay sighed with relief as Danny left the room. If he had seen the full extent of the bruising, being the smart guy that he is, he probably would have figured out Lindsay's secret. And if Danny had figured it out – being the cop that he was – he would've insisted that she get medical attention, and tell the police. If that happened, Vince would definitely kill her.

**A/N K, I know its VEERY short, but it's just a prologue...Chapter one will be up very shortly. **


	2. Helping Out

"Linds! I'm home!"

Lindsay groaned inwardly. She had once felt joy and love when Vince stepped through the threshold, but now the sound filled her with anxiety and fear. She hoped with all her heart that he was having a good day. "Hey baby!" she greeted, a fake smile plastered on her face. "How was your day?"

"Good," he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her passionately. Lindsay grimaced, but allowed him to kiss her, knowing that if she didn't he'd get angry. His hands grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her closer and causing pain to shoot through her body as he squeezed the bruises that he had left on her body days before. She gasped, the pain was so intense, but Vince took it as a gasp of pleasure and shoved his tongue into her mouth, nearly gagging her. "My day was very good." He said, when he finally pulled away.

"I'm glad to hear that," Lindsay said, and she wasn't lying, because the better his day had gone the less likely it was that he'd get drunk or angry and use her as his own personal punching bag.

"You got dinner started?"

"I thought we'd order Chinese, or pizza or something," Lindsay said timidly.

Vince hesitated. "Sounds good. Make the call." He wandered over to the fridge, and pulling out a beer flopped down onto the couch.

Lindsay seethed with anger at his commanding tone, but did what he said, in fear of getting hurt. Her body was too bruised, too delicate to take another blow from her boyfriend. She stalked into the kitchen, yanked the phone out of its cradle and furiously punched in the numbers to the pizza place around the corner. She placed their order, and even though it wouldn't be ready for nearly 15 minutes – they always seemed to be backed up – she told Vince that she was going to go pick up the pizza.

"M'kay," he mumbled before turning back to whatever it was he was watching on the television.

Lindsay left the apartment building and entered the crisp New York October. She loved New York in the fall; all the trees shedding their orange and gold and yellow leaves and the clean, pure feel that the air had – a rare feeling in New York. She slowly loped down the sidewalk, knowing that the longer it took for her to get the pizza, the less time Vince would have to hit her. She entered the pizza parlor, the strong smell of freshly baked bread and garlic and fresh tomatoes invigorating to her senses. She sat down in one of the chairs that they had for customers awaiting take out, and waited. The bell on the door jingled a few moments later, and in walked none other than Danny Messer.

"Hey, Montana," he said, taking a seat next to her.

"Hey, Danny," she greeted warmly. "Waiting for a pizza?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, "I love this place."

"Me too, Vince and I order from here all the time." Danny knew all about Lindsay's live-in boyfriend, Vince, or so he thought. He had even met him once, and didn't particularly like the guy. There was something kind of shady about him, something mysterious, that he assumed was attractive to Lindsay, but this particular quality of his made Danny uneasy. Sure, the guy was good looking, and seemed to be charming, but Danny really couldn't see what Lindsay saw in him.

"Hmm." Danny mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

"You eating alone?" Lindsay asked.

"What? Yeah," Danny told her.

"Why don't you come over to my place? You can eat with Vince and me. He seemed to like you when he met you, that time at the Gala." This was a complete lie, Vince had informed Lindsay that her partner was "cocky, arrogant and a whole lot of trouble," but Lindsay figured that he wouldn't be able to hurt her as long as Danny was around.

"You sure he'd be ok with that?" Danny asked, unsure.

"Yeah, why wouldn't he be?" Lindsay said, even though she could think of about a million reasons why he couldn't be ok with it.

"Cool. Eating alone sucks."

"Yeah, I know," Lindsay laughed.

Their pizzas were ready soon, and they picked both of them up and headed back to Lindsay and Vince's apartment. "It's not far," Lindsay told Danny as they walked with the piping hot pizza boxes in their hands.

Lindsay pushed the door to her apartment open. "Finally!" Vince shouted when he heard the front door squeak faithfully, "What took you so long? I'm starving!" he padded down the hall into the entryway. "Who's this?" he asked, seeing Danny standing there.

"This is my partner, Danny. You met him at the Gala, remember?" She bit her lip nervously. "He was gonna have to go home and eat all alone and I felt bad, so I figured you'd be ok with it." She gave him a look, telling him not to mouth off.

"Sure. Fine," he grunted. "Wanna beer?" he asked Danny.

"Uh, no thanks," Danny declined, "I'll just have a water, if that's ok."

"Yeah," Lindsay said quickly. "I'll go get one." She pulled two bottles of water out of the refrigerator and handed one to Danny. They all sat down at the table and opened the boxes of pizza.

"I hate sausage," Vince muttered when he saw the pizza Danny had selected.

"Well then you don't have to eat it, Vince," Lindsay snapped.

"Calm down, Linds!" Vince raised a hand like he was going to hit her, but seeing that Danny was glaring at him, he lowered his hand. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, to try and distract Danny from his actions.

"It's ok," Lindsay half whispered.

_It's not ok, _Danny thought furiously. _He was going to hit her!_ He didn't have the courage to pipe up and say anything to Vince, though, so he just took another bite of his pizza.

The meal was awkward, and Danny couldn't wait to leave. It wasn't until he was home that he regretted his decision. Vince was probably beating the living daylights out of Lindsay, just about now.

He was right. "Vince! No please!" Lindsay screeched, trying to avoid his fist. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Why'd you bring him here in the first place? You think he could protect you or something?" he growled.

"No!" Lindsay sobbed, as Vince's fist connected with her shoulder in a very tender spot that was already black and blue. "I thought he was lonely! He's my partner, my friend, I was just trying to help him out!"

"Well, there won't be any more 'helping out'. Got it?"

Lindsay cowered against a wall. "Ok," she whimpered, wiping away a tear that was slipping down her cheek. "I got it."

**A/N Uh oh…. not good. Ok, so review and chapter 2 will be up soon!**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	3. Reflection

"I know what Vince does to you," Danny told her the next evening when he was alone with Lindsay in the locker room after their shift had ended.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Danny," Lindsay replied as evenly as she could.

"Lindsay, don't play dumb. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't," she insisted. "And, I'd really appreciate it if you'd leave me alone," she turned abruptly and left the room.

"Something wrong, Linds?" Stella asked as she passes her obviously angry friend in the hallway.

"No," Lindsay answered a bit too quickly.

Stella grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her and turn her around and Lindsay fought to stifle her gasp of pain. Stella saw the fear and pain that replaced the light and life that had once occupied Lindsay's chocolate brown eyes. "You sure everything is ok?" Stella asked, "How's Vince? Anything wrong back home?"

Lindsay forced a smile. "Really, Stella, everything is fine. Vince is great, and so is my family. I'm just tired, that's all."

This excuse wasn't quite good enough for Stella; it was obvious that something was wrong, but it was also obvious that Lindsay wasn't going to tell her what was up. "Ok," she smiled faintly, "Try to get some moor sleep tonight."

"I will. Goodnight, Stella." Lindsay said goodbye to her friend and began the dreaded journey home. _Home, _she mused to herself, _if you can call it that._ Out of desperation to be away from Vince for as long as possible, she decided to walk home instead of taking the subway. It was a pretty long walk, but the time alone and fresh air gave her time to clear her head. She thought about her relationship with Vince – if you could call it a relationship. How it started off great, but changed drastically one day when he had gotten drunk after a bad day at work. She had accidentally knocked a glass filled with water off of the counter and he had gone ballistic. That night was the first time that she had been intentionally hit in her life. Her parents didn't believe in hitting children to punish them, so she had never even been spanked before. Vince apologized profusely the next day when the alcohol had worn off and promised that it would never happen again, but it did. He hit her and slapped her and kicked her and had even bit her once. She tried to break off the relationship, but every time she did, he hurt her even more and threatened to kill her and her family. If it had been anybody else, she probably wouldn't have taken him seriously, but she knew what Vince was capable of, and how he wouldn't stop until he felt that he had fulfilled his mission. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that Vince would say to do and then not complete.

The walk was too short. She arrived at her apartment in about a half an hour, but that wasn't enough time. She regretted having walked home the second she walked into the apartment.

"Lindsay! Where have you been?" Vince shouted angrily. "I am starving!"

"Haven't you ever thought of making dinner for yourself?" Lindsay snapped. She regretted her statement when Vince's hand came into contact with her face.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that!" he ordered.

"Ok. I'm sorry," she whimpered, hoping that he wouldn't hit her anymore. It was almost as though he was bipolar – one minute he'd be perfectly happy, the next, hitting Lindsay around like a rag doll.

"Get dinner started. I'm starving," Vince said through clenched teeth.

Wiping away her tears, Lindsay did as he told.

A/N Ok, a short chapter, but I promise that the next one is gonna be good. No DL action yet, obviously, but trust me, I'm as anxious to get there as you are.

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	4. More to the Story

Lindsay wasn't at work. Her shift started nearly half an hour ago, and she hadn't called in sick or anything.

"Where is she?" Danny asked angrily to nobody in particular.

"Danny, calm down!" Stella told him, "She's probably just running late or something."

"She's never late!" Danny insisted, which was true.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Flack put in.

"You don't understand!" Danny yelled, "That bastard of a boyfriend of hers abuses her!"

The whole team fell silent and stared at Danny. "It's true! I saw a bruise and once when I was eating dinner with them he nearly hit her."

"That doesn't prove anything, Danny," Mac reasoned. "It's just one bruise, and you might have just thought that he was going to hit her. You were probably just confused."

"I'm not confused!" Danny said, loosing what little bit of self-control he still had. He picked up his phone, wallet and keys and stalked out of the room. "I'm going to go find her," he shouted of his shoulder before anybody could stop him from leaving.

Mac nodded to Flack. "Follow him," he told him, "Don't let him do anything stupid."

Flack agreed and too was gone.

Danny rapped on the door to Lindsay's apartment. Nobody answered. He heard some shuffling in the room, so he knew that somebody was in there. "NYPD!" he yelled, growing impatient and opening the unlocked door himself. He walked into the room and saw Lindsay lying unconscious on the floor, blood pooling out around him.

Danny caught a glimpse of Vince's back retreating towards the fire escape and ran after him. "Don't you even think about it!" he yelled, but it was too late. Lindsay only lived on the second floor, so Vince was already on the ground and running when Danny got to the window. He called for backup and rushed to Lindsay's side. After a quick scan of her body, he could see no life threatening injuries, and sighed with relief. Her eyelids fluttered open. "Linds? Linds, it's Danny. I'm right here, ok? I'm gonna stay right here as long as you need me."

Lindsay attempted to nod, but the pain was too great. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

"Shh…" Danny soothed, "Don't cry, I'm right here. The ambulance is on its way."

"Don't leave," she managed to rasp.

"I won't, I promise," he said, trying hard not to cry himself.

Flack entered the room a moment later, and saw Danny cradling Lindsay in his arms, telling her softly to stay with him. "How'd you get here so fast?" Danny asked, sniffing to regain his composure.

"Mac told me to follow you."

"Is the ambulance here?"

"No, it'll be here any minute though,"

"Vince used the fire escape. You gotta find him."

"We will, Danny, just stay here with Lindsay," Flack left the room.

Danny heard the sound of sirens growing closer and closer. He figured he save the paramedics the trouble of getting the stretcher up the stairs – there was no elevator – and gently lifted Lindsay up into his arms. She had managed to stay semi – conscious, and wrapped her hands around Danny's neck. As carefully as he could, he carried Lindsay all the way down the stairs and outside, just as the paramedics arrived. He lowered her onto the stretcher and they loaded her into the ambulance. "Don't leave," she pleaded once again, so with the paramedics ok, he climbed into the ambulance after her.

While Danny accompanied Lindsay to the hospital, Mac, Stella and Hawkes arrived at Lindsay's apartment. Stella and Mac began knocking on neighbors' doors, trying to find out if anybody heard anything while Hawkes processed the apartment.

"Did you hear anything unusual next door?" Stella asked Lindsay's neighbor – a slim, blonde bimbo about 25.

"Not really," she said, snapping her gum, "Just a lot of screaming and yelling."

"That's not unusual?" Stella questioned.

"Not for them, no," she shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Stella asked, wanting more specific details.

"Well, normally she gets home first, and then he gets home a while later. Most days he starts yelling as soon as he gets home. These walls are thin here, so I pretty much hear everything. Normally stuff about food and why she hasn't started dinner. I hear her cry sometimes, I'm pretty sure he smacks her around a lot."

"And you say this happens every day?"

"With the shouting and yelling and hitting? Yeah."

"Thank you," Stella said, forcing a smile. How could she have been so blind? She knew that something was wrong, but to have her friend be beaten day after day and not notice? She felt like a terrible person.

"What have you got?" Mac asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"Well, just a lot of screaming and yelling. They all say it's pretty normal, though. The airhead I just talked to said that she was pretty sure he beat her."

"That's pretty much what I got," Mac confirmed. "Let's go see how Hawkes is doing."

Lindsay lay in her hospital bed, not wanting to show Danny the extent of her bruising. "I'm fine!" she insisted stubbornly.

"No, Montana, you're not. You were beaten pretty bad, and I know its not the first time. You know that I'm going to have to take pictures as evidence," he paused, "Unless you want Stella to do it,"

"No," she shook her head, realizing that there was no way around it, "you can do it. Just make it quick, ok?"

He nodded, and got to work swabbing her hands and underneath her fingernails. He took pictures of her hands and face and legs, but saved her shoulders and back for last, not really wanting to know what bruising lay beneath her hospital gown. Finally, she turned around and untied the top of the gown so that her back and shoulders were exposed. Danny gasped. He knew it was going to be bad but he had no idea that it would be this bad. Her entire back was nearly one big bruise. There were some cuts and scratches, but for the most part her back was a rainbow of color – black, brown, blue and yellow splotches marring her creamy skin. "Just take the pictures," she whimpered. Danny did so, quickly and told her that she could retie her flimsy gown. She moved slowly – Vince had broken a few of her ribs – and she lay back down gingerly, trying unsuccessfully to lie in a comfortable position. Every time she tried, something hurt. "I give up." She groaned, flopping down onto her back (not the smartest move). "Ouch." She gasped.

"Didn't they give you anything for the pain?" Danny asked, alarmed.

"Yes, but it's not helping too much."

"Do you want me to get a nurse?"

"No, Danny, I'm fine, really." She paused and attempted a smile, "As long as you're here I'll be fine."

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised her, sitting on the edge of her bed. He took her hand and they were silent for a minute. "I have to ask," he began, "I know it's probably not my place, but I just have to- "

She cut him off. "Why didn't I leave him? That's what you were going to ask, isn't it?" Danny nodded. "I was scared." She said simply. "He threatened to kill me and my family – and Danny, if Vince says he's gonna do something, he does it, no questions asked. That's one of the things that I liked about him at first, his perseverance and the way he's true to his word. But, in the last few months, that's what scared me about him."

"But, Linds, you knew that we wouldn't let anything happen to you!" After saying that, he realized that wasn't the best thing to say, as she was lying in a hospital bed, all black and blue, and he hadn't been able to help her at all.

"There's more," she said, with much difficulty. "It wasn't just that. The story doesn't end there."

"What is it Linds?"

"He killed her."

**A/N Ha ha. I'm such a terrible person, but you love me anyway!**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	5. Tears

"Who killed who?" Danny's eyes widened in alarm, sure that Vince had murdered somebody in the past.

"I told you that I didn't leave Vince because I was scared. It's not just that I was scared of him, I was scared of the things that people like him are capable of." She took a deep breath. "When I was 19, my best friend, Rochelle, moved in with her boyfriend, Kyle. Things got pretty bad between them, and I was pretty sure that he beat her." She paused to regain her composure. "He killed her. He beat her to death and it's all my fault. I saw all of the signs but didn't do anything." A tear slipped down her cheek. "It's my fault that my best friend is dead."

"Lindsay! It's not your fault," Danny assured her. "I understand why you were scared, though. No offence, but I've always thought that Vince was kinda creepy."

"You did?" Lindsay sniffed.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I dunno. I didn't think it was my place to tell."

"You're my friend, my partner." _I wish you were more than that,_ she thought. "It's definitely your place to tell."

"Ok. I'm sorry." _I wish I were more than just your friend. _

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who stayed with the guy who beat me."

"Let's talk about something else, ok, Linds?"

She smiled at him gratefully. "One more question."

"Ok. What?"

"Did you catch him?"

Danny looked away, not wanting to admit that he hadn't been fast enough.

"I'll take that as a no." Lindsay said ruefully.

"I'm sorry. We're gonna catch him, Linds. We are! I promise you."

"Ok."

"I am gonna do whatever it takes to catch that bastard and put him away." He squeezed her hand and half smiled. "I swear."

The intensity of Danny's promise scared Lindsay slightly. She knew that he meant well, but she was afraid that he was going to take this too far. She didn't want him to hurt himself trying to catch Vince. "He's not worth getting hurt over," Lindsay whispered.

"I know," Danny said, "But you are."

* * *

Lindsay returned to work two weeks later. She would have come back sooner if Mac had let her, but he insisted that she took time off. She was different; quieter, not as out going, but the team was glad to have her back.

"I had to kill him!" Farrah Parker, a wanna be actress whose husband was dead, exclaimed. "He beat me! I was scared for my life!"

"Can you prove that?" Danny asked her.

Farrah pulled down her sleeve to expose a bruise on her shoulder.

"That's it?" Danny questioned.

"I'm telling you! He got violent!"

Lindsay didn't want to listen to this woman. The whole time she told her story, images of Vince beating her flashed through her head. "You call that beating?" she asked suddenly.

Farrah cocked her head to the side, slightly confused.

"You call that beating?" Lindsay asked again, beginning to lose her temper. Danny gave her a look of warning, but Lindsay just ignored it. She happened to be wearing a button down shirt with a tank top underneath it that day. She unbuttoned it and shrugged it off,

"What are you doing?" Farrah asked.

Lindsay turned around, showing the bruises and cuts that were still visible on her back. "This!" she exclaimed, "is beating. I don't know how you got that stupid little bruise on your shoulder, but that's not enough of a reason to kill somebody. I let my boyfriend smack me around for nearly 6 months, and I never once hit him back, much less killed him!" she yanked her shirt back over her shoulders and stormed out of the room.

Danny finished the interrogation as quickly as he could, then, leaving Farrah in the room alone, set off to find Lindsay. She was leaning against a wall on the other side of the building, breathing deeply, trying her best to regain composure. Danny took her into his arms and she burst out into tears. It was the first time that she had cried since she had told Danny about Rochelle in the hospital. It felt good, though, to be here in Danny's arms, getting his shirt all wet. He smoothed her hair down and traced designs on her back, never suggesting that she should stop crying and never pulling away. He just stood there, holding her in his arms, telling her that everything would be ok.

**A/N LAME ENDING ALERT!!! Sry. Um…ik its short (again) but please don't hurt me. I'll have the next chapter up soon.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	6. War

Danny was at war. With himself. He knew that he cared for Lindsay in a way that extended beyond the bond of a friend or a partner, but he also knew that she was still very vulnerable, even if she wouldn't admit it. He didn't want to rush things, didn't want to ruin the bond that they had, but he needed something more. He wanted to be there for her, to protect her and hold her close when she was scared. He wanted to be her One. The person that was right for her in every way. He already knew that she was his One, but he didn't know how to tell her. What was he supposed to do? Go up to her and be all like "Hey Linds, you're The One!" That would terrify her. He didn't want to drive her away, couldn't drive her away, for without her he was nothing.

Lindsay was at war. With herself. She cared for Danny more than just a friend, but was afraid that she would be rushing into a relationship too quickly after one went sour. She knew that Danny would never hurt her, he'd never so much as lay a finger on her, except in a kind way, of course, but she was scared. Images of Vince haunted her day and night. She couldn't sleep, in fear that he would come back and finish what he had begun. The only time she ever felt safe was when she was with Danny. He was her Person. The person that she wanted to protect her and love her and always be there. She knew that she couldn't tell him. It would freak him out, and then he'd grow distant. She couldn't risk that, for without him she was terrified and alone.

A/N Whoa buddy! That's a really short one! But, I couldn't come up with anything else to add to this chapter to make it longer, so I decided to just make it it's own little…hmmm what's the right word? Snippet. It's a snippet of a chapter. There you go. Have fun, and review the snippet. A real chapter will be up shortly.

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	7. Avoiding the Truth

"You're avoiding me." Lindsay's voice sounded hurt and alone.

Danny turned his back to her. "Am not." He insisted, pretending to process some evidence.

Lindsay snorted. "You refuse to look at me, you don't talk to me unless it's absolutely necessary and you won't return my calls. I'd call that avoiding."

Danny sighed and turned back around. "Fine. I'm avoiding you."

"Why?" Lindsay sounded so vulnerable that it made Danny want to kill himself.

"Because I'm scared."

"You're scared of me? Seriously, Danny, I'm the one who let my boyfriend use me as a punching bag for 6 months. You're the one who saved me from him. Why on earth would you be scared of me?"

Danny flushed slightly. "I'm not afraid of you…. I'm afraid of what you do to me."

"And what is that?" Lindsay was more impatient now.

"Are you serious? I thought I was really obvious."

"Obvious about what?" She wouldn't allow herself to think that he cared for her.

"About this." He took her into his arms and his lips crashed down onto hers. She gave in to the kiss with out a moment's hesitation and slid her arms around his neck. Danny reluctantly pulled away. "I love you, Lindsay." He whispered, his voice husky.

"I love you too, Danny." She murmured. "I love you so much!" Tears sprang to her eyes, and he kissed her once again, lightly this time, and crushed her against his body.

"I swear to you, Lindsay, I'm never going to let anybody hurt you ever again. If somebody so much lays a finger on you, he will be sorry."

"As long as you're here I won't hurt."

Danny kissed her hair and held her even closer. The feeling of this amazing woman in his arms was almost too much to bear, so he had to pull away. "I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

A/N Another short one. My thoughts seem to be coming in short spurts lately, and when I try to put them together in one chapter it just sounds wrong. So, I'm keeping them apart.

**  
xoxo**

**Lia**


	8. Nightmares

"Danny!" Lindsay awoke suddenly, sweat pouring down her face, her breathing harsh and heavy. She was slightly disoriented, but soon realized that she was in Danny's bed, of all places. He wasn't in there with her, but he soon entered the room, having heard her cry out.

He climbed up next to her, and took her into his arms. "What's wrong?"

"He was here," she sobbed, "He was here and he was going to kill me."

"Lindsay, slow down, I can't understand you, baby."

Lindsay sniffed and tried to calm down so that she could tell him. "I was in my house and I was all alone. I heard the door open, and I thought it was you, so I got up and went to see you. But, it wasn't you. It was Vince, and he had a gun and he said that he was going to kill me. I started screaming and tried to run away but he caught me. I kept screaming for you, but you wouldn't come."

"Oh, Lindsay," he rocked her back and forth slightly, trying his best to soothe her. "It's ok, Linds. I'm always here for you, you know that."

"I have that dream nearly every night. I'm afraid to sleep. That's why I'm so tired all the time."

"I noticed," Danny told her, "you fell asleep watching the movie and I didn't want to wake you up, so I carried you in here and slept on the couch."

"You didn't have to do that," Lindsay told him, trying to forget about the dream.

"Yes I did." He kissed her just behind her ear

"I'm so scared, Danny. He terrifies me."

"You have every right to be scared," he assured her. "He's a scary guy. But, like I said, I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know." She relaxed into his embrace. "Will you stay with me?" she asked, sounding very young and vulnerable.

"Of course I will," he shifted so that they were lying down, without letting go of Lindsay.

"Don't let go," she pleaded.

"I won't." he promised. When he was sure that she was asleep, he closed his eyes and fell asleep as well.

"How did you sleep?" Danny smiled down on her the next morning when she opened her eyes.

"Better than I have in months," she admitted.

"Well, I'm glad to have been able to help," he kissed her lightly on the lips.

"You helped a lot. I feel safe when I'm in your arms."

"You are welcome to stay here any time you need to."

"Really?"

"Yep. I just want you to be happy, Linds. Seeing you unhappy like this makes me hurt inside. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, no questions asked, no pressure on you to do anything you don't want to."

"That means a lot to me Danny. Thank you."

"You are very welcome." He kissed her again.

**A/N Argh. Another short one. I just can't link my thoughts together to make it sound good, so you're just going to have to deal with about a bajillion short chapters. Sorry.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	9. The Right to Remain Silent

Lindsay had never been so happy in her entire life. Being with Danny just felt so right that she could hardly think of anything else. Although they hadn't gotten any further than kissing, Danny held her in his arms nearly every night, warding off all nightmares that had once plagued her.

They had told Mac about their relationship, and he was ok with it – he had seen it coming, just like the rest of the team – as long as they kept it out of the office. They had agreed, and tried their best to act like they were nothing more than partners, although they cheated every now and then and stole a chaste kiss in the locker room.

They were walking towards the subway station, hand in hand, as was their daily custom when a strange look crossed Danny's face.

"What's wrong?"

Danny didn't answer her, eyeing a man in the crowd, not sure if he was who he thought he was. He had only met the guy twice, but was pretty sure of who it was. "Lindsay, get behind me," he ordered her, his voice sounding harsher and more protective than she had ever heard it before.

"Danny, what's going on?" she stepped back so that she was slightly behind him, but it was too late.

Vince spotted her and began to advance closer to where they were standing. Lindsay saw him, and grew very scared, even though she knew that Danny was there and was going to protect her.

"Get your hands off of my girl," Vince demanded when he was right in front of them.

"Lindsay stopped being your girl the first time you hit her," Danny shot back.

"Lindsay, baby, come on. Let's get out of here and leave this loser to have a pity party."

"You nearly killed me, Vince! If it weren't for this 'loser' I might be dead right now. I am not going anywhere with you."

Vince made like he was going to try and grab Lindsay, but Danny was too quick. He easily took Vince down, and resisted the strong urge to beat the living crap out of him. He did, however, do enough damage to make him feel like he accomplished something, and to get Vince lying down on his stomach on the sidewalk. He pulled out his trust handcuffs. "Vincent Marino, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. If you choose to ignore this right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." With that, he marched him off in the direction in which he came, Lindsay trailing behind him.

* * *

"You know, you don't need me here anymore," Danny told Lindsay that night as they crawled into bed.

"Are you saying that you want me to leave?" Lindsay asked, a horrified expression on her face.

"No! No, I'm just saying that Vince is locked up now, you don't have any reason to worry."

"I know, but you're wrong. I do need you still. I'll always need you."

"I like the sound of that," Danny rolled over so that he was on top of her. "I really like the sound of that," he kissed her then, long and deep and slow. Lindsay sighed. Danny really was the best kisser. She allowed him to trail kisses down her neck, loving the feeling of Danny all around her. Just the way he smelled turned her on. "Are you sure about this?" Danny asked, knowing that if she didn't stop him now he wouldn't be able to.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

**A/N This one is a little bit longer. Sorta. And, I've gotten lots of reviews asking about this, so I just thought I'd mention that that thing about being her Person in the chapter called War was inspired by Grey's Anatomy. Thank you Cristina Yang! Lol I'm pretty sure she's the one who said it first.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	10. The L Word

Lindsay shifted contentedly in Danny's arms so that she could get a better look at his handsome face. You wouldn't expect Danny Messer – The Danny Messer – to look so cute and peaceful when he sleeps, but with Danny you really don't know what to expect.

Danny's eyelids fluttered opened and he smiled when he saw Lindsay staring at him. "Are you checking me out, Miss Monroe?" he challenged.

Lindsay smiled sweetly. "I most certainly am, Mr. Messer. Why? Do you have a problem with that?"

"Definitely not." He smiled and kissed her on the nose.

"Good, 'cause I plan on checking you out when ever I feel like it."

"I have absolutely no problem with that." Danny kissed her teasingly on the lips.

Lindsay sighed dramatically. "What? After al that effort waking up before you and flirting and stuff that's all I get? One wimpy little kiss?"

"Wimpy? Danny feigned an expression of shock and hurt. "I'm highly offended, Montana."

"Nothing you do is wimpy," Lindsay purred seductively.

"Now that's more like it," he said finally giving her the deep, passionate kiss that she wanted. He rolled over on top of her, pinning her arms down with his hands to give himself complete control over her – something that most girls, in his experience at least, found sexy and arousing, except not Lindsay. She began to squirm underneath him and turned her head to the side to break the kiss. Normally, Danny would have taken advantage of this position and marked her neck as his own, but instead he rolled off of her. "Linds, what's wrong?"

"Please, don't do that," she whimpered pitifully.

He was pretty sure he could feel his heart shattering. "Do what?"

"Pin me down like that. Vince always did that to me so hard that if left bruises on my arms. It just brings back bad memories."

He held her tenderly against his chest and stroked her hair. "You know I'd never hurt you, baby." And then it just slipped out. The L word. No, not locksmith, but love. "I love you too much to hurt you."

She looked up at him. "Do you really mean that?"

"About loving you? Of course I mean it. I'd never say anything that I didn't mean with all of my heart."

"Good." Lindsay smiled and snuggled back up against Danny's strong chest. "I love you too, Danny."

**A/N Ok, this update took about forever. Sorry, I got sick and didn't feel up to writing. But, I'm mostly better now, so updates will be coming faster. Just to warn you, it's almost over. I know, it feels like is just started, but…**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	11. Damian, Age 5

Danny reached into his wallet to pull out some cash so that he could pay the ice cream vendor. Lindsay stood beside him, happily licking a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone and reminding Danny of a little girl. In his own hands, Danny held a vanilla cone – for which Lindsay teased him for being boring with his choice – and it proved to be very difficult to go through his wallet and hold an ice cream cone at the same time. "Let me hold that for you," Lindsay took it from his hands, and Danny smiled gratefully at her. He finally found a ten-dollar bill and handed to the vendor. When he pulled it out, however, something fell out of his wallet. Danny hadn't noticed it, but Lindsay did, and handing the vanilla cone back to Danny, she leaned over to pick it up. "What's this?" She turned over the small piece of paper, and it turned out to be a photograph of a young boy, about four or five years old, who had the same bright blue eyes as Danny.

Upon seeing what it was, Danny's eyes grew fearful. He hadn't intended on telling Lindsay about him so early on in their relationship, afraid that he'd scare her off. He snatched it away from her and shoved it back into his wallet. By now, they were walking down the sidewalk, neither of them talking.

"Danny…who was that boy?" Lindsay asked, dreading the answer, for she was pretty sure she knew whom it was. The resemblance was just too uncanny for it to be a cousin or nephew.

Danny sighed heavily. "I was gonna tell you soon," he insisted, "but I just didn't think that you'd be able to handle it just yet, what with everything you've been goin' through." He still made not attempt to tell Lindsay the identity of the child.

"He's your son, isn't he?" Lindsay asked quietly.

Danny glanced up at her – he had been avoiding her gaze, choosing to stare at the dirty sidewalk instead – and bit his lip in a gesture not unlike one of hers. "Yeah." He said it almost as though it were a question.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lindsay managed to keep her voice level.

"I told you, I didn't think you could handle it." They had arrived at their apartment – Lindsay had sold her apartment and moved in with Danny – and Lindsay didn't say anything more until they were alone, with the door shut firmly behind them.

"Why didn't you think I could handle it?" Lindsay burst out.

"Because of Vince!" Danny exclaimed as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What does Vince have to do with a little boy?"

"I don't know, Lindsay!"

"So are you saying that you didn't want to tell me?" Lindsay spat angrily.

"Yeah, I guess so!" his words were like a harsh slap on the face.

"Do you not trust me?" Lindsay said, her voice wavering slightly.

"Of course I trust you, Linds. I love you, ok, and I didn't want to scare you off or something."

Lindsay raised her eyebrow. "Do you think I'd be scared off by, what, a four year old?"

"Five," Danny corrected. "Damian's five."

"Well, isn't this great. Now we have a name and an age. That's good progress seeing as 10 minutes ago I didn't know he existed." Lindsay retorted sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest. "Do I get to know who the mother is?"

"Linds," Danny pleaded, "Don't be mad at me! I didn't want it to hurt you."

"How would it hurt me? Do you think that I don't know that you're the Infamous Danny Messer?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I hear them talk, Danny. I hear everybody talking about me and how I'm not going to last because the Infamous Danny Messer has slept with half of New York and isn't going to stop until he's slept with all of it. They've even giving you an acronym. They call you IDM. And I've heard that they even have a pool going to see how long I last. Last time I checked they gave me another month before you got rid of me." Lindsay's face began to crumple and the tears that she was trying so hard to hold back burst out.

Danny took her into his arms, and stroked her back soothingly. "This isn't about Damian, is it?"

Lindsay shook her head against his chest. "No."

"Lindsay, I love you. There's no way that you're just one of 'IDMs' next targets, or that I'm gonna dump you in a month, 'cause whether you like it or not, I'm holdin' on to you. You're not goin' anywhere."

Lindsay sniffed, and mopped up the rest of her tears with her sleeve. "I think I'm ok with that."

"Good." He kissed her on the top of the head.

Lindsay lifted her head up off of his chest suddenly. "But he's the only one, right? Damian I mean, you don't have any other kids?"

Danny chuckled, "Nope, he's the only one."

**A/N Yay! It's longer. Sorta. I loved this chapter. I've been debating whether I should give Danny a secret, but I decided to. So here you go.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	12. Central Park

"I want to meet Damian."

"What?" Danny looked up from the pot of spaghetti sauce he was stirring.

"You heard me. I want to meet Damian."

"Linds, I don't think you understand. Carla – that's Damian's mother – wasn't anything special to me. She was just a one-night stand and she just happened to get pregnant. I'm not exactly in Damian's life. I send the check every month, but that's about it. I actually haven't seen him since he turned 4."

"Well, Danny, I think that should change."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. The boy needs a father."

"But wouldn't that bug you?"

"Not really. I mean, it might a little at first, but Danny; he's your son, ok. I understand that I'm not the only girl you've ever been with, and it's not like you're the only guy I've ever been with."

"But you don't have a kid," he paused, "Do you?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "No, Danny, I don't have a kid."

"Ok. Just making sure. So you seriously want me to be a part of Damian's life?"

"Yes. He needs a daddy." She repeated.

"And you're sure you're ok with this."

"Danny, it was my idea."

"Right. Ok…well I'll find Carla's number and call her."

"Thank you." Lindsay hugged him from behind. She rested her chin on his shoulder. "I love you."

"Love you too, babe."

* * *

Lindsay fretted as she tore threw her closet. What are you supposed to wear to meet your boyfriend's son and the mother of his child? Ok, so she wouldn't admit it out loud, but this was starting to bug her a little bit. "Why'd I have to go and open my mouth?" She scolded herself quietly.

"I happen to like your mouth," Danny said, coming up behind her and placing a kiss on her bare shoulder. Lindsay flushed slightly. "It doesn't matter what you wear, Linds. You look gorgeous in anything."

"Well, that isn't true, but thank you."

"No, it's true," he assured her. "Remember what I told you? I don't say anything that I don't mean."

"Ok, fine, you win, but what do I wear?"

"Linds, we're not going to the Oscars or anything. We're going to the park to meet a 5 year old."

"I know, I just want to make a good impression."

"On a 5 year old?"

"On Carla."

"Why does it matter what she thinks?"

"I don't know…she's the mother of your child. I don't want her to think that I'm…." she trailed off.

"That you're what?" he prompted.

"Unworthy?" she suggested.

"Lindsay." Danny spun her around so that he could look her in the eyes. "I told you. She was a one-night stand. You're the only one for me. End of story. "

"That's an ending that I like," she kissed him softly. "Now I really have to get dressed."

"Really? Do you have to?" Danny whined.

"Yep." She kissed him once more and settled on jeans and a pink t-shirt. She pulled her hair into a messy, loose bun on top of her head. "Ready."

"That was quick."

"Seriously, Danny, it's not like we're going to the Oscars or anything. We're going to the park to meet a 5 year old." She teased.

"Yeah. Cute." He rolled his eyes. "Come on."

"Daddy!" Damian screeched when he saw Danny. Danny lifted the boy into his arms and spun him around like an airplane.

"Hey, buddy!" a genuine smile lit up his handsome features. He had forgotten how much he loved the kid.

Lindsay eyes Carla – a pretty, slender girl with long dark hair and glinting green eyes – stand off in the distance a bit. Danny, who was still holding Damian, led Lindsay over to where Carla was standing.

"Carla, this is my girlfriend, Lindsay. Lindsay, this is Damian's mom, Carla."

"Oh, so it that all I am? Damian's mom?" Carla snapped.

"Carla," Danny looked slightly confused. "I picked you up at a bar. It was a one-night thing, you knew that."

"Yeah, it was one night until I got pregnant."

Danny chose to ignore her angry tone. "Look, I came here to play with my kid and to introduce him to the most important woman in my life, all right? If I'm gonna hafta deal with this snippy attitude of yours, then me and Linds will go home alright?"

Carla took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. "Ok. I'm sorry," she said through clenched teeth.

"Ok, Damian, you wanna go swing?" Danny asked his son.

"Yeah!" Damian replied happily.

"You comin' Linds? Carla?"

"No, I think I'm gonna stay here for now, Danny. I want to talk to Carla," Lindsay replied.

Danny gave her a quizzical look, but said, "Alright. Whatever floats your boat."

Lindsay watched as Danny took Damian's hand and led him over to the swings. "He loves him, y'know." She told Carla.

"Yep, that's why he's visited so much," Carla replied sarcastically.

"Look," Lindsay fought to regain control, "Danny's really busy, all right? Our job isn't the easiest one, and we don't have a lot of time off. He really wants to be a part of Damian's life, so can you just give him a chance?"

"Why should I?" Carla shot back, "I've sat here, for 5 years, hoping that someday he'd wake up and say to himself 'Oh! I should be with Carla! She is, after all, the mother of my child!' How stupid am I? He's IDM! Sorry, honey, but it's not long before he dumps you and moves on."

Lindsay let everything that Carla said just pass right over the top of her head. "Danny loves me," she said simply, "and I love him. Nothing will change that. Nothing you say or do and nothing that anybody else says or does, ok?"

Carla looked slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected this little country girl to have such a big attitude. "Where'd you get that feisty little attitude of yours?" she asked sarcastically, "Oklahoma City?"

"You don't have to be from a big city to have an attitude," Lindsay smirked. "And I'm from Bozeman, Montana. Oklahoma is for hicks."

Carla snorted. "Yeah. Right. Sorry."

* * *

"She hates me." Lindsay told Danny that night as they crawled into bed.

"She's gonna hate you. She wants to be the girl in my life, and so she's jealous."

"I guess. I had a good time today. Damian's a sweet kid."

"Yeah, he is. I'm glad you talked me into this. I wanna be there for him, y'know?"

"Well, you've always been here for me, so I'm sure you can be there for him."

Danny smiled and kissed her sweetly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Danny."

He pulled her up against his chest, and they both fell into the confines of sleep.

**A/N Whew. That was long, compares to the rest of my recent chapters. Like over a thousand words. Go me. Lol. Ok…that's it. Oh. I lied. I told you that it was almost over, but it's not. This beautiful little idea just popped into my head as I was writing this chapter, so it's gonna be a while before it's over.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	13. In Danny's Arms

"Lindsay,"

She barely glanced up from the paperwork that she had brought home from work to finish. "Hmm?" she replied distractedly.

"Marry me." He said it as a statement, not a question.

Lindsay's head snapped up to look at Danny, and she could see that he was holding a box with a gorgeous diamond ring in it. He eyes widened and filled with tears. "Are you serious?" she gasped.

He chuckled. "Of course I am. I never- "

"Say anything that you don't mean." Lindsay finished, as Danny took her hand and pulled her up so that she was facing him.

"I tried to come up with this big elaborate proposal and stuff, but I- "

Lindsay cut him off with a kiss. "No. This is perfect. This is just the way I want it to be between us. Nothing big and fancy, I don't even want a big wedding or anything, I just want you."

"I'll take that as a yes?"

"You'll take that as a definitely yes…. a yes you will marry me or I will kill you." She smiled wickedly.

Danny, unable to contain his joy, shouted, "YES!" and picked Lindsay up and twirled her around. After several minutes they both began to get dizzy, so he put her down and slid the ring onto her finger. "I love you," he said against her lips.

"I love you too, Danny."

He captured her lips in a kiss that felt like no other kiss she'd had before. It was true that Danny was a phenomenal kisser, but this topped all the rest. There was so much passion and joy that it made them both feel like entirely new people, almost as if they were one. _This is where I want to be, _Lindsay thought. _Right here, in Danny's arms._

**A/N Possibly my shortest one yet, but I thought you'd like this particular chapter. Up next is all the wedding preparation crap… I'm used to it because of my Numb3rs fic. Like half of the chapters are about weddings and stuff. Lol ok. That's it. Big stuff coming up next!**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	14. Location, Location, Location

"This wedding better be perfect, because it's driving me crazy planning for it," Lindsay grumbled as she and Danny attempted to put a guest list together.

Danny chuckled. "Ah, come on. It can't be that bad."

"Yes, Danny it really is. It's draining every bit of energy from me." He could tell from her facial expression that she was dead serious. "Look, I want to marry you more than I want anything else in the world, but this just isn't working. I'm not cut out for this."

Danny thought for a moment. He then snatched the list away from his fiancée and leaned back against the couch, pulling her against his chest. "I've got an idea."

"What? Because if you say elope to Vegas, I swear I'm walking out of this apartment and never coming back."

"I wasn't going to say that," Danny said teasingly, not able to hide the smirk on his face. "What I was going to say, is that you've always talked about how much more beautiful in Montana than it is here."

"Yeah, it is. What's your point?"

"I think that we should get married there. Choose a place there, any place you want, and it'll just be you, me, a minister and a couple of witnesses."

A smile spread onto Lindsay's face. "I know the perfect place."

"Wow." That was all Danny could say. Just 'wow.'

"I know." Lindsay said, in reference to his lack of words. That's what I said when I first found it. 'It' wasn't a big fancy church or anything; it was just a clearing in a patch of isolated trees that wasn't too far from Lindsay's house. The clearing was only about 10 feet in diameter, and it was nearly a perfect circle. To add to the serenity and beauty of the little clearing, a quiet brook bubbled about 5 yards away. It was obvious that because of its location, nobody but Lindsay knew about it. "I found it once when I was about 15. The only other person who has ever been here is my horse, Charlie."

"Wow." Danny said again, completely enthralled by the magic and calm that seemed to fill the air here.

"I called it my Magic Place. Whenever I got into a fight with my parents or got a bad grade on a test or was just sick of all the commotion I'd come here and just think. I always go back home feeling 100 times better than I did when I came."

"Wow." Danny said for the third time. "This is the perfect place to get married. Like, seriously. The PERFECT place. I can't think of a better place on earth to marry you in."

"I know." Lindsay smirked triumphantly. Then, she squealed, unable to contain her excitement and jumped into Danny's arms, kissing him wildly. He staggered slightly, not at all prepared for her to literally jump into his arms and backed up a few feet so that he was leaning against a tree. And then, of course, he just had to kiss her back. Her hot tongue begged for entrance to the recesses of his mouth, which he graciously granted as he ran his hands up and down her sides.

"Linds." He tore his lips away.

"Hmm?"

"This is kinda uncomfortable," he said, gesturing to the tree he was leaning up against.

Lindsay laughed and stepped back, allowing him to step away from the tree as well. "Sorry."

"No, it's ok. I'm not complaining, but location, location, location."

"So, what do you propose that we do now?" she asked seductively.

"Hmm…" Danny tapped his chin, pretending to think.

"How about we go find a better location?" Lindsay suggested, batting her eyelashes.

**A/N Whoo! I found a way to get out of writing all the long wedding planning stuff….plus I think that Lindsay and Danny aren't the big wedding kind of people anyway. Oh, shout out to the amazing script writers of CSI:NY….Wednesday's episode made me cry. And let me just say that I totally called the whole Danny going to Montana thing….like the very first episode that Lindsay was gone.**

**K…end of uber long A/N**

**Xoxo**

**Lia**


	15. The Wedding

A soft prairie wind blew Lindsay's loose curls around her face as she repeated her vows. Danny stared at his bride with such love and adoration that it brought tears to both of their eyes.

"I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Danny took Lindsay into his arms and kissed her so sweetly that she thought she was going to pass out. It was so much more different than all of the other kisses he had given her. She had thought that their first kiss after becoming engaged was magical, but this one was on a whole other level. He broke the kiss and just held her in his arms for a moment, until their parents gathered around the happy couple, intent on congratulating them.

"I'm so happy for you," Lindsay's mother gushed.

"You look beautiful," Danny's dad told his new daughter-in-law.

"What about me?" Danny asked teasingly, "Don't I look good?" he had a grin on his face that he just couldn't seem to hide.

"Yes," Lindsay assured him, "you look good." In truth, he looked absolutely amazing. As good as he looked in a tight t-shirt, he looked even better in a tuxedo. She hugged both of her parents, as well as her new in-laws, and finally she hugged the reverend.

"I'm happy to see you so happy," Reverend Joe told Lindsay, a grandfatherly smile on his face. He had helped Lindsay through the extreme guilt and lonesomeness that she had experienced after her friends had been murdered so many years ago and they were very close. He was almost like a grandfather to her.

"I am happy," she responded, "I've never been this happy in my life."

"I'm glad." He hugged her once more and then handed her over to her husband.

"Was he your minister growing up?" Danny asked as he took her hand and they started walking back to her house.

"Yeah. He's the one I talked to after it happened." She didn't clarify what 'it' was, but Danny knew what she meant. He also didn't try to force her to talk about it, for which she was very grateful.

"Well, I'm glad that you had somebody to talk to."

"He really helped me get through it. I just felt so guilty, y'know? I was the only one…" she trailed off. "It's our wedding day, we should talk about happy things."

"What kind of things?" Danny asked suggestively.

"Oh, I don't know…maybe the beautiful beaches of the Bahamas that we're going to spend the next week on?"

"I was actually thinking more of the suite that I reserved for us." He stopped her and kissed her, as if to get a taste of what was going to be going on once they arrived in the Bahamas.

"I like that idea." Lindsay said against his lips. "In fact, I like it a lot."

**A/N Yay! They're married. I'm excited for them. I hate to break it to ya, but it's not gonna stay all happy and lovey dovey… just a warning…**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	16. I runned across the street

"I miss the beach already." Lindsay said as she lay her head down on Danny's chest and snuggled closer.

He snaked his arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, me too. Who knew that a week could go by so fast?"

"I know. It's back to work and New York again." She sighed dramatically.

"Ah, it can't be that bad. I'm in New York." He teased.

"That's right," she said, kissing him chastely on the lips.

"That's all I get?" he pouted.

She rolled her eyes. "We just got back from our honeymoon, Danny. A whole week of nothing but you and me and a hotel room and a beach."

He gave her a blank stare. "What am I gonna do with you?"

He kissed the tip of her nose. "I have some ideas."

She rolled her eyes again, but gave in, as she had only been holding out to tease him. On their honeymoon she decided that she would never get tired of the feeling of Danny's lips on hers and his arms around her and it proved to be true now. She felt so safe with Danny all around her. With Vince she had felt scared and alone when he crushed her the way he did, but Danny was loving and gentle, and she loved him for that. He understood that she had been hurt in the past and was never too rough or demanding.

Lindsay pulled Danny's wife beater over his head as he deepened the kiss. Just then the phone rang. Danny groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me." He gently pushed Lindsay off of him and rolled over. "Messer." He listened for a moment. "Ok, I'll be there soon." He said and hung up.

"Carla got hit by a car," he told Lindsay, sitting up and pulling his shirt back on.

"Oh my gosh! Is she alright?"

"It's not good." Danny said grimly. "Let's go."

They both got dressed quickly and rushed out the door and to the hospital.

A nurse sat in the ER with Damian by her side. "Daddy!" he wailed when he saw Danny.

Danny pulled the child into his arms. "It's ok, buddy. Everything is going to be ok."

The little boy continued to cry into Danny's shoulder. "Mommy's hurt!" he sobbed. "She got hit by a car." Damian proved to have very deep insight and understanding for a child who was only 5.

"I know, Damian, I know." By now, Damian had stopped crying and hopped back up onto the seat next to Lindsay. In the past months since he had met her, he had become absolutely smitten with her and wanted to be around her as much as he could. "Damian, can you tell me exactly what happened?" Danny asked gently.

The little boy nodded. "Mommy was walking me to kindergarten, and I was real excited, because Jimmy Robinson said he was bringing his pet snake in for show and tell. So, I didn't wait for Mommy at the stoplight like she said to and I runned across the street. Mommy runned after me and pushed me out of the way and then a taxi hit her." Tears began to well up in Damian's eyes once again.

Lindsay reached out and hugged him. "Shh… Damian, it's going to be ok."

The door to the ER opened just then. A doctor came out. "Carla Richards?" he asked, "Is anybody here for Carla Richards?"

The trio stood up and approached the doctor. "Come with me, please." He said, gesturing them down a hallway and into a private room. He behind a desk and Lindsay and Danny took the two chairs across from it, Damian perching on Lindsay's lap. "We did everything that we could," the doctor said. "But I'm afraid that we were not able to save Carla."

"What does that mean?" Damian asked.

"Damian," Danny said, "You're mommy died, buddy."

"I don't get it?" the boy asked, genuinely perplexed.

Danny sighed, not sure how he was to explain to a 5 year old that he'd never see his mother again. "She's gone. She went to go live in heaven with all the angels."

"But she's coming back, right? She loves me, she told me so! She said that she loved me more than anybody else in the world, especially this Angel person."

"No, Damian, she's not coming back." Danny said quietly causing the child to burst into tears and bury his head in Lindsay's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," the doctor interrupted, "But exactly who are you?"

"Uh, Carla's my ex-girlfriend," he decided to say girlfriend instead of former one night stand because it sounded better, "and Damian's our child."

"So who's the other lady?" the doctor asked. "I don't mean to pry, but there is the issue of who will take care of the boy."

"I'm his wife," Lindsay said around Damian's sobbing body, "And there's no issue. We'll take Damian."

**A/N mwa ha ha. Sry bout the long wait, but I just didn't have the time to write this past week. Well, hope you liked this chapter and the next one should be up fairly soon.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	17. Cars, SpongeBob and Construction Signs

"_We'll take Damian."_

Danny looked slightly shocked. "We – we will? Linds, don't you think we should talk about this?"

"Danny, what's there to talk about? Damian is your son! He had nobody else. I can't believe you'd even have to think about this." She rubbed Damian's back soothingly to try and calm him down.

Danny thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right. He is my son, and I love him. He belongs with us."

"And this is your room," Lindsay said, ending Damian's tour of his new home. In the past few days, she and Danny had been furiously cleaning the junk out of the guest bedroom and turning it into a room fit for a 5 year old. They weren't quite finished yet, but they left the finishing touches - wall color, bedspread, that sort of thing – up to Damian. He had chosen a blue bedspread with yellow, red, green and orange cars on it. The walls were painted blue as well, with a border that matched the cars on the bed spread. They had taken the furniture from Damian's old room at Carla's apartment and painted them white to go with the room better. "Do you like it?" Lindsay asked hesitantly.

Damian just nodded. He had become very quiet since his mother's death, which was understandable, but Lindsay still worried. He'd been through a lot, with all the custody papers and the funeral and all, and Lindsay knew from past experience that it was tough to go through. "I'm tired." He said finally.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Lindsay asked, not really knowing what to do, as she had never been a mother before.

Damian nodded again. "Alright," Lindsay said. "Let's get your pajamas on and brush your teeth." She helped Damian pick out a pair of green pajamas with construction signs on them and squirt toothpaste onto his SpongeBob toothbrush.

"Mommy always reads me a story." Damian informed Lindsay as she began to tuck him in.

"Ok," Lindsay said. She gestured to the bookshelf where all of Damian's books were. "You want to pick one, or do you want me to pick?"

"You can pick," Damian said sleepily.

"Alright." Lindsay picked out a book about a dog who runs away from home. Damian was nearly asleep when she finished reading.

"Lindsay?" he asked as she began to get off the bed where she had been laying next to the 5 year old.

She sat back down. "Yeah?"

"Are you my new mommy?" he asked.

She hesitated, not knowing what to say. "Um, well, I guess I can be if you want me to be."

"I'd like that," Damian said. "Can I call you Mom?"

"Sure."

"Will you stay here with me until I fall asleep?"

Lindsay smiled. "Of course."

Danny walked into the room an hour later, wondering where Lindsay had gone. He found her curled up on Damian's bed, sleeping peacefully next to the little boy. He smiled at the sight. He walked over to her and tapped her gently on the shoulder. "Linds," he whispered, not wanting to wake Damian up. "Linds, come on. Let's go to bed."

She moaned, not wanting to get up. He sighed and lifted her up off of the bed and carried her to the bedroom, where he laid her gently on the bed before crawling in beside her. "Damian asked me if he could call me Mom," she said, laying her head on his chest.

He put his arms around her. "What'd you say?"

She yawned. "I said yes."

"Good. I always wanted a big family. This is the start."

"Danny," she said, half asleep, "There's only three of us."

"I know. But 3 is enough for now."

"Yeah."

Within minutes, they had both drifted off to sleep.

**A/N So how do you like the idea of Damian living with them?? I thought it was a good one, but what do you think?**

**Xoxo**

**Lia**


	18. Being Parents

"NO! I'M NOT GOING TO SCHOOL AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" Damian screamed several mornings later. He knocked his glass of orange juice onto the floor, the sticky liquid staining the carpet that was underneath the kitchen table. He then picked up his plate of bacon and eggs and hurled it with impressive force hitting an unsuspecting Lindsay square in the face.

"DAMIAN!" The child immediately stopped screaming and throwing things. He had never heard his father yell before and it terrified him to all ends. Danny didn't like to yell at his son, but he knew that it was the only way to get him quiet. Calmly reasoning with him wouldn't work, simply because Damian wouldn't have been able to hear him. "Apologize to your mother right now." He said, his voice stern.

"She's not my mother," Damian mumbled, scowling.

"What was that, Damian?" Danny challenged.

"Nothing," he replied quickly.

"Damian, I know that you miss your mom, ok, buddy? I get it. And I know that Lindsay isn't your birth mother, but as far as I'm concerned, and as far as the state of New York is concerned she is your mom. You're the one who asked to call her mom. I'm not saying that you have to if you don't want to, both of us will understand, but you do have to treat her with respect."

Damian sniffled, trying hard to hold back the tears. He ran to Lindsay and flung his little arms around her waist. "I'm sorry!" he wailed.

"It's ok, Damian," she said, lifting him up into his arms, trying hard not to cry herself.

A half an hour, a box of tissues and a lot of carpet cleaner later, the threesome headed off to Damian's school. It was his first day back since the death of his mother and it was quite obvious that he was terrified. "It's gonna be fine," Lindsay assured him, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

Danny and Lindsay got Damian all settled in his classroom and made a quick exit in hope that it would discourage him from becoming clingy and wanting to go home. They then walked hand in hand to work. "This is harder than I thought it would be," Danny admitted.

"I know," Lindsay agreed, "He's having a tough time. We just need to give him time to adapt. This will be hard for all of us for a while."

"I really want this, Linds…you know…to be a good dad and stuff, but I don't think I'm too good at it."

"We're learning as we go," Lindsay told him, "I'm not too great at being a mom."

"Yes, you are," Danny insisted. "He adores you."

"Well, Damian adores you even more," she retorted.

It was true. Damian idolized his dad. He'd already told every single person in Mrs. Sadie's kindergarten class that his daddy was 'a real like cop who carried a gun.' This fact alone boosted him to instant popularity among the 5 year olds.

"I think we're going to have fun being parents." Danny informed his wife.

"Good. How do you feel about two kids?"

_Finis_

**A/N To sequel or not to sequel…that is the question. So sorry about the wait. Lila…. you've been a HUGE help. Thank you so much. Ok….so like I said….I might leave it there, but if you guys object then….**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


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